AFC Betting Preview & Top Picks | NFL Wild Card Weekend, 15/01/22

The Kansas City Chiefs host the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday as they begin their road to a third straight Super Bowl appearance. The AFC Wild Card Weekend betting card also includes two games on Saturday as the Cincinnati Bengals host the Las Vegas Raiders and the Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots.

Las Vegas Raiders (+5) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (-5)

Joe Burrow enters the postseason as one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL. Over his last two starts, Burrow has racked up 971 passing yards with eight touchdown passes and no interceptions. Now Burrow will be tasked with trying to lead the Cincinnati Bengals (10-7-0) to their first playoff victory since 1991.

The Las Vegas Raiders (10-7-0) had to overcome a lot of adversity to get to this point including a mid-season coaching change and the loss of their star wide receiver Henry Ruggs due to his involvement in a fatal DUI car accident. Despite all of that, the Raiders won each of their last four games (all by four points or less) to earn this spot in the postseason. If Burrow plays like he did in his last two games, we’ll likely see a blowout loss similar to the 32-13 loss the Raiders suffered at the hands of Cincinnati earlier this season. But Las Vegas’s improved defensive play of late and the pressure of the postseason could lead to a more competitive game, and that’s what we’re expecting.

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New England Patriots (+4) vs. Buffalo Bills (-4)

The New England Patriots (10-7-0) faded down the stretch going 1-3 straight up and against the spread over their last four games of the regular season after having gone 7-0 SU and ATS over their previous seven games. The Buffalo Bills (11-6-0) meanwhile are trending in the right direction with a 4-0 SU and 3-0-1 record over their last four games that includes a 33-21 win on the road over the Patriots. That win came 20 days after New England beat the Bills 14-10 in Buffalo.

This is a tough one to cap. You can’t rule out Bill Belichick in the playoffs, and Buffalo’s recent hot streak is bolstered by some pretty terrible teams outside of the Patriots. We can see New England’s rushing attack leading the Patriots to an upset win or the Bills’ home crowd and strong passing game leading Buffalo to a win and cover. Since it’s too close to call, we’ll take the points on the Patriots as a close game in projected ice-cold weather seems quite likely.

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Pittsburgh Steelers (+12.5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-12.5)

The Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) kept themselves mathematically alive for a playoff spot with a 16-13 upset win on the road over the Baltimore Ravens and got help from around the NFL last Sunday to punch their ticket to the postseason. Unfortunately for the Steelers, that ticket runs through Kansas City. The Chiefs (12-5-0) are 9-1 SU and 6-4 ATS over their last 10 games and are averaging 35.4 points per game on offense over their last five games.

While the other two matchups in the AFC this weekend are interesting ones that could go a number of ways, all signs point to a comfortable Chiefs win here. Kansas City just beat Pittsburgh 36-10 at home three weeks ago, and not much has changed. Look for the Chiefs to roll into the next round with an easy win.

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